Warfare at UTA: MediaLink founder Michael Kassan (left) is at odds with company CEO Jeremy Zimmer.
THR Representation; Adobe Inventory; Getty Photographs
A felony showdown has erupted between Michael Kassan and United Skill Company over the MediaLink founder’s departure, with Kassan claiming that he resigned after being lied to about his duties and privileges on the company and the company pronouncing it fired him for misusing corporate price range.
In an arbitration motion initiated through Kassan on March 12 in opposition to UTA that names leader govt Jeremy Zimmer, he claims that UTA fraudulently brought on him to comply with a sale of MediaLink “simplest to then stroll again the very guarantees made” relating to what he would oversee on the company and allowances for his particular bills price range. He resigned on March 6, preempting the company terminating him the following day. UTA, in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Awesome Court docket on Tuesday, accuses Kassan of treating corporate cash as a “non-public slush fund.”
In a observation, Sanford Michelman, a legal professional for Kassan, denied allegations that his consumer stole cash from the company. “UTA’s claims are a determined assault in keeping with Kassman resigning after which suing them,” he stated, including that it’s an “tried diversion tactic through UTA to cover that they fraudulently brought on Michael into agreeing to a transaction when Zimmer had no purpose of honoring his phrase.”
Bryan Freedman, a legal professional representing UTA, stated in a observation that Kassan used to be “terminated through UTA on March 7 and made mindful neatly earlier than that that UTA had grounds to fireside him.”
“His declare in opposition to UTA has no benefit and is an try to divert consideration from the misappropriation of corporate price range that ended in his termination,” Freedman added.
In 2003, Kassan based the strategic advisory company MediaLink, which used to be then bought through UK-based Ascential in 2016. 5 years later, UTA purchased the corporate after an competitive dating effort. As a part of the deal, Kassan remained as leader govt of MediaLink and changed into a spouse at UTA.
In step with the grievance in opposition to Kassan, he “virtually in an instant” started to abuse his authority through the use of corporate price range to pay for private bills.
In December 2021, two weeks after UTA closed its acquire of MediaLink, Kassan wrote exams to himself from the corporate’s trade bank account for $155,000, which he stated used to be for private charitable donations, the lawsuit claims. A 12 months later, he allegedly directed MediaLink to divert his particular bills price range to his S-corporation, a move thru entity typically used for tax functions. He in the long run won over $700,000 earlier than the bills ceased when MediaLink’s best finance govt allegedly learned that his contract didn’t permit lump sum bills, consistent with the grievance.
The lawsuit claims Kassan additional breached his contract through the use of MediaLink’s checking account to pay just about $500,000 of private bank card debt. UTA argues that Kassan did not direct shoppers to deposit price range right into a UTA-managed account as an alternative of 1 in the past utilized by MediaLink, which he nonetheless had regulate over as the only real signatory.
When faced, Kassan allegedly may just now not justify or supply documentation for his bills, UTA claims. Different allegedly wrong expenditures come with giving his spouse, who isn’t affiliated with UTA, an organization bank card, spending a “small fortune” on luxurious go back and forth and expensing his non-public motive force’s housing, according to the lawsuit. “Because of this, following an investigation, Kassan used to be terminated for reason,” states the grievance, which notes that his contract used to be because of expire in 2026.
Kassan tells a unique tale about his departure from UTA. In step with him, the company, in violation of representations made to him, “concocted a scheme” to silo MediaLink and power Kassan into expanding costs, on best of refusing to put money into the advisory company and slashed its advertising and marketing spend. He says he submitted his resignation on March 6, with an efficient date of April 5 until adjustments had been made on the corporate.
“In reaction, Zimmer, sticking together with his taste of intimidation, attempted to reject Kassan’s resignation after which issued a termination for “Motive,” states the grievance. “Sarcastically, the invalid termination — after Kassan had already resigned — used to be in response to Kassan’s advertising and marketing spend and charitable giving which UTA alleged used to be too prime and beside the point.”
On allegations that he improperly spent corporate price range, Kassan claims that he used to be clear about his degree of spending, the extent of which used to be agreed upon when Kassan agreed to promote MediaLink to UTA. He argues his particular bills price range used to be used to create new trade alternatives for the corporate. In step with the arbitration submitting, Ascential supplied him with a $1.5 million discretionary fund price range paid in advance every 12 months to MEK, Inc. to web him $950,000 after taxes, which is allegedly nonetheless in impact following MediaLink’s sale to UTA.
“As an specific situation to Kassan’s accepting UTA’s be offering, he said — in writing — that his advertising and marketing allowance will have to proceed according to ‘previous practices,’” states the submitting, which claims that Zimmer performed a “sham” audit of his spending as pretext to fireside him.
When Zimmer began to prioritize cost-cutting, Kassan argues that the company backtracked on its guarantees. This allegedly integrated UTA directing Kassan to enormously cut price services and products to UTA shoppers on the expense of MediaLink, shuttering its winning govt seek trade and selling positive other people “in trade for his or her complicity in UTA’s scheme to urge Kassan to comply with the UTA and Ascential transaction.”
The lawsuit from UTA main points expense allowances for Kassan. Consistent with the settlement, he used to be given a unique price range of as much as $950,000 for use “in step with previous [MediaLink] follow.” This cash used to be supposed to serve for bills he incurred over and past commonplace trade expenditures, corresponding to personal jet go back and forth, consistent with the grievance. UTA argues that he used to be entitled to those fees “simplest with recognize to the cheap that meets positive EBITDA objectives.”
UTA’s lawsuit in opposition to Kassan, who allegedly waived his just about $10 million severance cost through resigning, could also be moved into arbitration, according to the spouse services and products settlement. He’s anticipated to transport for sanctions over the company submitting its felony motion within the wrong venue “in order that it could turn out to be public,” Michelman says. If the case is authorized to continue in Los Angeles Awesome Court docket, on the other hand, it may be able to unearth whether or not UTA reneged on guarantees it made to Kassan when it used to be pursuing his popularity of the merger, which might hose down its acquisition potentialities.
